Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5481-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5481-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Nov 2024
Research article |
| 27 Nov 2024
| 27 Nov 2024
Accumulation by avalanches as a significant contributor to the mass balance of a peripheral glacier of Greenland
Bernhard Hynek
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geosphere Austria, Department Climate Impact Research, Vienna, Austria
Institute of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
Daniel Binder
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
Institute for Geosciences University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Michele Citterio
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
Signe Hillerup Larsen
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jakob Abermann
Institute of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
Geert Verhoeven
Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Elke Ludewig
Geosphere Austria, Sonnblick Observatory, Rauris, Austria
Wolfgang Schöner
Institute of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
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Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-347, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-347, 2022
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Jonathan P. Conway, Jakob Abermann, Liss M. Andreassen, Mohd Farooq Azam, Nicolas J. Cullen, Noel Fitzpatrick, Rianne H. Giesen, Kirsty Langley, Shelley MacDonell, Thomas Mölg, Valentina Radić, Carleen H. Reijmer, and Jean-Emmanuel Sicart
The Cryosphere, 16, 3331–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, 2022
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Thomas Goelles, Tobias Hammer, Stefan Muckenhuber, Birgit Schlager, Jakob Abermann, Christian Bauer, Víctor J. Expósito Jiménez, Wolfgang Schöner, Markus Schratter, Benjamin Schrei, and Kim Senger
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The Cryosphere, 16, 2471–2491, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2471-2022, 2022
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Moritz Buchmann, John Coll, Johannes Aschauer, Michael Begert, Stefan Brönnimann, Barbara Chimani, Gernot Resch, Wolfgang Schöner, and Christoph Marty
The Cryosphere, 16, 2147–2161, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2147-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2147-2022, 2022
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Knowledge about inhomogeneities in a data set is important for any subsequent climatological analysis. We ran three well-established homogenization methods and compared the identified break points. By only treating breaks as valid when detected by at least two out of three methods, we enhanced the robustness of our results. We found 45 breaks within 42 of 184 investigated series; of these 70 % could be explained by events recorded in the station history.
E. Nocerino, F. Menna, and G. J. Verhoeven
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G. Verhoeven, B. Wild, J. Schlegel, M. Wieser, N. Pfeifer, S. Wogrin, L. Eysn, M. Carloni, B. Koschiček-Krombholz, A. Molada-Tebar, J. Otepka-Schremmer, C. Ressl, M. Trognitz, and A. Watzinger
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G. J. Verhoeven, M. Santner, and I. Trinks
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Anne Solgaard, Anders Kusk, John Peter Merryman Boncori, Jørgen Dall, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe B. Andersen, Michele Citterio, Nanna B. Karlsson, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Niels J. Korsgaard, Signe H. Larsen, and Robert S. Fausto
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3491–3512, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3491-2021, 2021
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The PROMICE Ice Velocity product is a time series of Greenland Ice Sheet ice velocity mosaics spanning September 2016 to present. It is derived from Sentinel-1 SAR data and has a spatial resolution of 500 m. Each mosaic spans 24 d (two Sentinel-1 cycles), and a new one is posted every 12 d (every Sentinel-1A cycle). The spatial comprehensiveness and temporal consistency make the product ideal for monitoring and studying ice-sheet-wide ice discharge and dynamics of glaciers.
Michael Matiu, Alice Crespi, Giacomo Bertoldi, Carlo Maria Carmagnola, Christoph Marty, Samuel Morin, Wolfgang Schöner, Daniele Cat Berro, Gabriele Chiogna, Ludovica De Gregorio, Sven Kotlarski, Bruno Majone, Gernot Resch, Silvia Terzago, Mauro Valt, Walter Beozzo, Paola Cianfarra, Isabelle Gouttevin, Giorgia Marcolini, Claudia Notarnicola, Marcello Petitta, Simon C. Scherrer, Ulrich Strasser, Michael Winkler, Marc Zebisch, Andrea Cicogna, Roberto Cremonini, Andrea Debernardi, Mattia Faletto, Mauro Gaddo, Lorenzo Giovannini, Luca Mercalli, Jean-Michel Soubeyroux, Andrea Sušnik, Alberto Trenti, Stefano Urbani, and Viktor Weilguni
The Cryosphere, 15, 1343–1382, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021, 2021
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The first Alpine-wide assessment of station snow depth has been enabled by a collaborative effort of the research community which involves more than 30 partners, 6 countries, and more than 2000 stations. It shows how snow in the European Alps matches the climatic zones and gives a robust estimate of observed changes: stronger decreases in the snow season at low elevations and in spring at all elevations, however, with considerable regional differences.
Kristyna Falatkova, Miroslav Šobr, Anton Neureiter, Wolfgang Schöner, Bohumír Janský, Hermann Häusler, Zbyněk Engel, and Vojtěch Beneš
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 301–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-301-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-301-2019, 2019
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In the last 50 years the Adygine glacier has been subject to relatively fast recession comparable to other glaciers in Tien Shan. As a consequence, a three-level cascade of glacial lakes formed, two of which were categorised as having medium outburst susceptibility. By 2050, the glacier is expected to have shrunk to 56–73 % of its 2012 extent. Further development of the site will result in formation of new lakes and probably also increase of outburst susceptibility due to permafrost degradation.
S. Štuhec, G. Verhoeven, and I. Štuhec
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2-W9, 691–698, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W9-691-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W9-691-2019, 2019
G. J. Verhoeven
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2, 1149–1156, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-1149-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-1149-2018, 2018
Konstanze Haubner, Jason E. Box, Nicole J. Schlegel, Eric Y. Larour, Mathieu Morlighem, Anne M. Solgaard, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Signe H. Larsen, Eric Rignot, Todd K. Dupont, and Kurt H. Kjær
The Cryosphere, 12, 1511–1522, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1511-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1511-2018, 2018
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We investigate the effect of neglecting calving on Upernavik Isstrøm, West Greenland, between 1849 and 2012.
Our simulation is forced with observed terminus positions in discrete time steps and is responsive to the prescribed ice front changes.
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Using the prescribed terminus position change we gain insight to mass loss partitioning during different time periods.
G. J. Verhoeven
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., IV-2-W2, 295–302, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-2-W2-295-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-2-W2-295-2017, 2017
G. J. Verhoeven and S. J. Missinne
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., IV-2-W2, 303–310, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-2-W2-303-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-2-W2-303-2017, 2017
Gregor Laaha, Juraj Parajka, Alberto Viglione, Daniel Koffler, Klaus Haslinger, Wolfgang Schöner, Judith Zehetgruber, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3967–3985, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3967-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3967-2016, 2016
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We present a framework for assessing climate impacts on future low flows that combines different sources of information termed pillars. To illustrate the framework, three pillars are chosen: low-flow observation, climate observations and climate projections. By combining different sources of information we aim at more robust projections than obtained from each pillar alone. The viability of the framework is illustrated for four example catchments from Austria.
Juraj Parajka, Alfred Paul Blaschke, Günter Blöschl, Klaus Haslinger, Gerold Hepp, Gregor Laaha, Wolfgang Schöner, Helene Trautvetter, Alberto Viglione, and Matthias Zessner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2085–2101, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2085-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2085-2016, 2016
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Streamflow estimation during low-flow conditions is important for estimation of environmental flows, effluent water quality, hydropower operations, etc. However, it is not clear how the uncertainties in assumptions used in the projections translate into uncertainty of estimated future low flows. The objective of the study is to explore the relative role of hydrologic model calibration and climate scenarios in the uncertainty of low-flow projections in Austria.
Ursula Weiser, Marc Olefs, Wolfgang Schöner, Gernot Weyss, and Bernhard Hynek
The Cryosphere, 10, 775–790, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-775-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-775-2016, 2016
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Geometric effects induced by tilt errors lead to erroneous measurement of snow albedo. These errors are corrected where tilts of sensors and slopes are unknown. Atmospheric parameters are taken from a nearby reference measurement or a radiation model. The developed model is fitted to the measured data to determine tilts and directions which vary daily due to changing atmospheric conditions and snow cover. The results show an obvious under- or overestimation of albedo depending on the slope direction.
Marc Olefs, Dietmar J. Baumgartner, Friedrich Obleitner, Christoph Bichler, Ulrich Foelsche, Helga Pietsch, Harald E. Rieder, Philipp Weihs, Florian Geyer, Thomas Haiden, and Wolfgang Schöner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1513–1531, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1513-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1513-2016, 2016
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We present the Austrian RADiation monitoring network (ARAD) that has been established to advance national climate monitoring and to support satellite retrieval, atmospheric modeling and solar energy techniques' development. Measurements cover the downwelling solar and thermal infrared radiation using instruments according to Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) standards. The paper outlines the aims and scopes of ARAD, its measurement and calibration standards, methods and strategies.
W. Colgan, W. Abdalati, M. Citterio, B. Csatho, X. Fettweis, S. Luthcke, G. Moholdt, and M. Stober
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-8-537-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-8-537-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript not accepted
W. Colgan, S. Luthcke, W. Abdalati, and M. Citterio
The Cryosphere, 7, 1901–1914, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1901-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1901-2013, 2013
M. Zemp, E. Thibert, M. Huss, D. Stumm, C. Rolstad Denby, C. Nuth, S. U. Nussbaumer, G. Moholdt, A. Mercer, C. Mayer, P. C. Joerg, P. Jansson, B. Hynek, A. Fischer, H. Escher-Vetter, H. Elvehøy, and L. M. Andreassen
The Cryosphere, 7, 1227–1245, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1227-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1227-2013, 2013
A. P. Ahlstrøm, S. B. Andersen, M. L. Andersen, H. Machguth, F. M. Nick, I. Joughin, C. H. Reijmer, R. S. W. van de Wal, J. P. Merryman Boncori, J. E. Box, M. Citterio, D. van As, R. S. Fausto, and A. Hubbard
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 5, 277–287, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-277-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-277-2013, 2013
M. Citterio and A. P. Ahlstrøm
The Cryosphere, 7, 445–449, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-445-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-445-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Discipline: Glaciers | Subject: Mass Balance Obs
Reanalysis of the longest mass balance series in Himalaya using nonlinear model: Chhota Shigri Glacier (India)
Brief communication: The Glacier Loss Day as an indicator of a record-breaking negative glacier mass balance in 2022
European heat waves 2022: contribution to extreme glacier melt in Switzerland inferred from automated ablation readings
Central Asia's spatiotemporal glacier response ambiguity due to data inconsistencies and regional simplifications
Recent contrasting behaviour of mountain glaciers across the European High Arctic revealed by ArcticDEM data
Characteristics of mountain glaciers in the northern Japanese Alps
Assimilating near-real-time mass balance stake readings into a model ensemble using a particle filter
Geodetic point surface mass balances: a new approach to determine point surface mass balances on glaciers from remote sensing measurements
Applying artificial snowfall to reduce the melting of the Muz Taw Glacier, Sawir Mountains
Satellite-observed monthly glacier and snow mass changes in southeast Tibet: implication for substantial meltwater contribution to the Brahmaputra
Brief communication: Ad hoc estimation of glacier contributions to sea-level rise from the latest glaciological observations
Heterogeneous spatial and temporal pattern of surface elevation change and mass balance of the Patagonian ice fields between 2000 and 2016
Long-range terrestrial laser scanning measurements of annual and intra-annual mass balances for Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China
Multi-year evaluation of airborne geodetic surveys to estimate seasonal mass balance, Columbia and Rocky Mountains, Canada
Interannual snow accumulation variability on glaciers derived from repeat, spatially extensive ground-penetrating radar surveys
Local topography increasingly influences the mass balance of a retreating cirque glacier
Multi-decadal mass balance series of three Kyrgyz glaciers inferred from modelling constrained with repeated snow line observations
Changing pattern of ice flow and mass balance for glaciers discharging into the Larsen A and B embayments, Antarctic Peninsula, 2011 to 2016
Mohd Farooq Azam, Christian Vincent, Smriti Srivastava, Etienne Berthier, Patrick Wagnon, Himanshu Kaushik, Arif Hussain, Manoj Kumar Munda, Arindan Mandal, and Alagappan Ramanathan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-644, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-644, 2024
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Mass balance series on Chhota Shigri Glacier has been reanalysed by combining the traditional mass balance reanalysis framework and a nonlinear model. The nonlinear model is preferred over traditional glaciological method to compute the mass balances as the former can capture the spatiotemporal variability of point mass balances from a heterogeneous in-situ point mass balance network. The nonlinear model outperforms the traditional method and agrees better with the geodetic estimates.
Annelies Voordendag, Rainer Prinz, Lilian Schuster, and Georg Kaser
The Cryosphere, 17, 3661–3665, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3661-2023, 2023
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The Glacier Loss Day (GLD) is the day on which all mass gained from the accumulation period is lost, and the glacier loses mass irrecoverably for the rest of the mass balance year. In 2022, the GLD was already reached on 23 June at Hintereisferner (Austria), and this led to a record-breaking mass loss. We introduce the GLD as a gross yet expressive indicator of the glacier’s imbalance with a persistently warming climate.
Aaron Cremona, Matthias Huss, Johannes Marian Landmann, Joël Borner, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 17, 1895–1912, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1895-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1895-2023, 2023
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Summer heat waves have a substantial impact on glacier melt as emphasized by the extreme summer of 2022. This study presents a novel approach for detecting extreme glacier melt events at the regional scale based on the combination of automatically retrieved point mass balance observations and modelling approaches. The in-depth analysis of summer 2022 evidences the strong correspondence between heat waves and extreme melt events and demonstrates their significance for seasonal melt.
Martina Barandun and Eric Pohl
The Cryosphere, 17, 1343–1371, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1343-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1343-2023, 2023
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Meteorological and glacier mass balance data scarcity introduces large uncertainties about drivers of heterogeneous glacier mass balance response in Central Asia. We investigate the consistency of interpretations derived from various datasets through a systematic correlation analysis between climatic and static drivers with mass balance estimates. Our results show in particular that even supposedly similar datasets lead to different and partly contradicting assumptions on dominant drivers.
Jakub Małecki
The Cryosphere, 16, 2067–2082, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2067-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2067-2022, 2022
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This study presents a snapshot of the recent state of small mountain glaciers across the European High Arctic, where severe climate warming has been occurring over the past years. The analysis revealed that this class of ice mass might melt away from many study sites within the coming two to five decades even without further warming. Glacier changes were, however, very variable in space, and some glaciers have been gaining mass, but the exact drivers behind this phenomenon are unclear.
Kenshiro Arie, Chiyuki Narama, Ryohei Yamamoto, Kotaro Fukui, and Hajime Iida
The Cryosphere, 16, 1091–1106, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1091-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1091-2022, 2022
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In recent years, seven glaciers are confirmed in the northern Japanese Alps. However, their mass balance has not been clarified. In this study, we calculated the seasonal and continuous annual mass balance of these glaciers during 2015–2019 by the geodetic method using aerial images and SfM–MVS technology. Our results showed that the mass balance of these glaciers was different from other glaciers in the world. The characteristics of Japanese glaciers provide new insights for earth science.
Johannes Marian Landmann, Hans Rudolf Künsch, Matthias Huss, Christophe Ogier, Markus Kalisch, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 15, 5017–5040, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5017-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5017-2021, 2021
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In this study, we (1) acquire real-time information on point glacier mass balance with autonomous real-time cameras and (2) assimilate these observations into a mass balance model ensemble driven by meteorological input. For doing so, we use a customized particle filter that we designed for the specific purposes of our study. We find melt rates of up to 0.12 m water equivalent per day and show that our assimilation method has a higher performance than reference mass balance models.
Christian Vincent, Diego Cusicanqui, Bruno Jourdain, Olivier Laarman, Delphine Six, Adrien Gilbert, Andrea Walpersdorf, Antoine Rabatel, Luc Piard, Florent Gimbert, Olivier Gagliardini, Vincent Peyaud, Laurent Arnaud, Emmanuel Thibert, Fanny Brun, and Ugo Nanni
The Cryosphere, 15, 1259–1276, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1259-2021, 2021
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In situ glacier point mass balance data are crucial to assess climate change in different regions of the world. Unfortunately, these data are rare because huge efforts are required to conduct in situ measurements on glaciers. Here, we propose a new approach from remote sensing observations. The method has been tested on the Argentière and Mer de Glace glaciers (France). It should be possible to apply this method to high-spatial-resolution satellite images and on numerous glaciers in the world.
Feiteng Wang, Xiaoying Yue, Lin Wang, Huilin Li, Zhencai Du, Jing Ming, and Zhongqin Li
The Cryosphere, 14, 2597–2606, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2597-2020, 2020
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How to mitigate the melting of most mountainous glaciers is a disturbing issue for scientists and the public. We chose the Muz Taw Glacier of the Sawir Mountains as our study object. We carried out two artificial precipitation experiments on the glacier to study the role of precipitation in mitigating its melting. The average mass loss from the glacier decreased by over 14 %. We also propose a possible mechanism describing the role of precipitation in mitigating the melting of the glaciers.
Shuang Yi, Chunqiao Song, Kosuke Heki, Shichang Kang, Qiuyu Wang, and Le Chang
The Cryosphere, 14, 2267–2281, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2267-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2267-2020, 2020
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High-Asia glaciers have been observed to be retreating the fastest in the southeastern Tibeten Plateau, where vast amounts of glacier and snow feed the streamflow of the Brahmaputra. Here, we provide the first monthly glacier and snow mass balance during 2002–2017 based on satellite gravimetry. The results confirm previous long-term decreases but reveal strong seasonal variations. This work helps resolve previous divergent model estimates and underlines the importance of meltwater.
Michael Zemp, Matthias Huss, Nicolas Eckert, Emmanuel Thibert, Frank Paul, Samuel U. Nussbaumer, and Isabelle Gärtner-Roer
The Cryosphere, 14, 1043–1050, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1043-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1043-2020, 2020
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Comprehensive assessments of global glacier mass changes have been published at multi-annual intervals, typically in IPCC reports. For the years in between, we present an approach to infer timely but preliminary estimates of global-scale glacier mass changes from glaciological observations. These ad hoc estimates for 2017/18 indicate that annual glacier contributions to sea-level rise exceeded 1 mm sea-level equivalent, which corresponds to more than a quarter of the currently observed rise.
Wael Abdel Jaber, Helmut Rott, Dana Floricioiu, Jan Wuite, and Nuno Miranda
The Cryosphere, 13, 2511–2535, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2511-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2511-2019, 2019
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We use topographic maps from two radar remote-sensing missions to map surface elevation changes of the northern and southern Patagonian ice fields (NPI and SPI) for two epochs (2000–2012 and 2012–2016). We find a heterogeneous pattern of thinning within the ice fields and a varying temporal trend, which may be explained by complex interdependence between surface mass balance and effects of flow dynamics. The contribution to sea level rise amounts to 0.05 mm a−1 for both ice fields for 2000–2016.
Chunhai Xu, Zhongqin Li, Huilin Li, Feiteng Wang, and Ping Zhou
The Cryosphere, 13, 2361–2383, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2361-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2361-2019, 2019
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We take Urumqi Glacier No. 1 as an example and validate a long-range terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) as an efficient tool for monitoring annual and intra-annual mass balances, especially for inaccessible glacier areas where no glaciological measurements are available. The TLS has application potential for glacier mass-balance monitoring in China. For wide applications of the TLS, we can select some benchmark glaciers and use stable scan positions and in-situ-measured densities of snow–firn.
Ben M. Pelto, Brian Menounos, and Shawn J. Marshall
The Cryosphere, 13, 1709–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1709-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1709-2019, 2019
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Changes in glacier mass are the direct response to meteorological conditions during the accumulation and melt seasons. We derived multi-year, seasonal mass balance from airborne laser scanning surveys and compared them to field measurements for six glaciers in the Columbia and Rocky Mountains, Canada. Our method can accurately measure seasonal changes in glacier mass and can be easily adapted to derive seasonal mass change for entire mountain ranges.
Daniel McGrath, Louis Sass, Shad O'Neel, Chris McNeil, Salvatore G. Candela, Emily H. Baker, and Hans-Peter Marshall
The Cryosphere, 12, 3617–3633, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3617-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3617-2018, 2018
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Measuring the amount and spatial pattern of snow on glaciers is essential for monitoring glacier mass balance and quantifying the water budget of glacierized basins. Using repeat radar surveys for 5 consecutive years, we found that the spatial pattern in snow distribution is stable over the majority of the glacier and scales with the glacier-wide average. Our findings support the use of sparse stake networks for effectively measuring interannual variability in winter balance on glaciers.
Caitlyn Florentine, Joel Harper, Daniel Fagre, Johnnie Moore, and Erich Peitzsch
The Cryosphere, 12, 2109–2122, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2109-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2109-2018, 2018
Martina Barandun, Matthias Huss, Ryskul Usubaliev, Erlan Azisov, Etienne Berthier, Andreas Kääb, Tobias Bolch, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 12, 1899–1919, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018, 2018
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In this study, we used three independent methods (in situ measurements, comparison of digital elevation models and modelling) to reconstruct the mass change from 2000 to 2016 for three glaciers in the Tien Shan and Pamir. Snow lines observed on remote sensing images were used to improve conventional modelling by constraining a mass balance model. As a result, glacier mass changes for unmeasured years and glaciers can be better assessed. Substantial mass loss was confirmed for the three glaciers.
Helmut Rott, Wael Abdel Jaber, Jan Wuite, Stefan Scheiblauer, Dana Floricioiu, Jan Melchior van Wessem, Thomas Nagler, Nuno Miranda, and Michiel R. van den Broeke
The Cryosphere, 12, 1273–1291, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1273-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1273-2018, 2018
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We analysed volume change, mass balance and ice flow of glaciers draining into the Larsen A and Larsen B embayments on the Antarctic Peninsula for 2011 to 2013 and 2013 to 2016. The mass balance is based on elevation change measured by the radar satellite mission TanDEM-X and on the mass budget method. The glaciers show continuing losses in ice mass, which is a response to ice shelf break-up. After 2013 the downwasting of glaciers slowed down, coinciding with years of persistent sea ice cover.
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Short summary
An avalanche event in February 2018 caused thick snow deposits on Freya Glacier, a peripheral mountain glacier in northeastern Greenland. The avalanche deposits contributed significantly to the mass balance, leaving a strong imprint in the elevation changes in 2013–2021. The 8-year geodetic mass balance (2013–2021) of the glacier is positive, whereas previous estimates by direct measurements were negative and now turned out to have a negative bias.
An avalanche event in February 2018 caused thick snow deposits on Freya Glacier, a peripheral...
